Sunday, January 04, 2015

D-Link's New Wi-Fi Routers Look Like Reverse-Engineered Alien Technology

Source: http://gizmodo.com/d-links-new-wi-fi-routers-look-like-reverse-engineered-1676131189

D-Link's New Wi-Fi Routers Look Like Reverse-Engineered Alien Technology

At one time when all you needed to connect was a couple of laptops, a cheap wireless router would more than suffice for most homes. But these days, when there's everything from phones to tablets to TVs relying on your Wi-Fi network, it makes sense to splurge on your hardware. And D-Link's new 11AC Ultra Performance Series routers promise speeds of up to 5.6 Gbps optimized for the myriad of different devices constantly hopping on and off your network.

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With a 2-Year Battery, This Wireless Motion Sensor Can Go Anywhere

Source: http://gizmodo.com/with-a-2-year-battery-you-can-put-this-wireless-motion-1676116530

With a 2-Year Battery, This Wireless Motion Sensor Can Go Anywhere

The best way to protect your home from intruders is a network of motion sensors monitoring every square inch of your abode. D-Link's new Z-Wave Motion Sensor not only makes that possible, it makes it impossibly easy, since the wireless sensor features a built-in battery that's good for up to two years of continuous operation. So you can mount it in obscure and hard-to-reach places, and not have to worry about running wires or constantly changing batteries.

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Linksys unveils networked storage and its fastest WiFi router yet

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/04/linksys-ea8500-and-network-storage/

Linksys EA8500 router

You knew that Linksys wouldn't sit idly by while competitors like ASUS and Netgear rolled out extra-fast WiFi routers -- sure enough, the Belkin-owned networking giant is coming to CES 2015 with some speedy wireless of its own. The company's EA8500 promises brisk, interruption-free 802.11ac at 1.73 Gbps thanks to both multi-user antennas (which keeps the speed up when the network is crowded) and a relatively quick 1.4GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor. It's also loaded with frills, such as four Gigabit Ethernet jacks as well as ports to share your eSATA and USB 3.0 storage. The EA8500 will be expensive at $280 when it ships in the spring, but it'll be accompanied by the $180 WRT1200AC if you're willing to settle for "just" 1.3 Gbps while maintaining similar features.

To top it off, Linksys is also diving into network attached storage through its new WRT Network Storage Bay. The enclosure will share two desktop hard drives (plus any drive you hook up through eSATA or USB 3.0) with your home network. The $130 box won't break new ground when it arrives in the spring, but it's worth a look if you want your backup hub or media server to match a Linksys router sitting on top.

Linksys WRT Network Storage Bay

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Source: Linksys (EA8500), (Network Storage Bay)

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Kwikset's Kevo lets you lock your home while on vacation in Tahiti

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/04/kwiksets-kevo-lets-you-lock-your-home-from-tahiti/

Kwikset launched its Kevo Plus service today, which finally brings its number one requested feature to life: remote locking and unlocking. Launching in spring of this year, the service will enable new and existing Kevo lock owners to upgrade their systems via a Bluetooth-enabled gateway shipped with their introduction package. The Plus platform will come with unlimited Scheduled (for a home cleaning service for example) and Anytime eKeys, remote locking and unlocking and real-time monitoring. The gateway connects to your home's internet router and interacts with the Kevo lock via Bluetooth Low Energy to either track activity or activate the lock itself. Apple products are supported across the board, though Android support is currently limited to Lollipop on the Moto X, Moto G and the Nexus 6. No word on pricing for the Plus service, but with a bit of shipped hardware attached to the deal, we'd suspect it'll cost more than $20.

We're used Kevo products in the past and the demo shown at the show apes that functionality, but with a couple new icons on the app's home screen. If your connected lock is locked, that icon glows on the main page and if it's open, that icon glows. Tap whichever icon you want and the phone communicates with the Kevo Plus service that, in turn, connects to your home gateway and completes the action. We definitely see the merit in always having a handle on your home's security and the instant access to your loved ones in a pinch. As long as the security bit stands up to scrutiny, Kwikset's automated lock business has just gotten a lot more attractive.

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Parrot Zik Sport headphones do noise canceling, heart monitoring

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/04/parrot-zik-sport-headphones/

Parrot's Zik 2.0 noise-canceling Bluetooth headphones may not be ideal for workouts, but fans may want to give the new Zik Sport a spin to get a similar experience. Granted, these are actually in-ears instead of the earcup type, but Parrot and Philippe Starck still managed to tuck in eight microphones -- six for noise-canceling, two for voice calls -- in addition to a heart rate sensor, pedometers and a five-hour battery (and that's with all the features turned on). That's a very impressive package given how much smaller these headphones are.

Understandably, the Zik Sport is made out of plastic and will be coated in a chrome finish, in order to achieve the impressive 75-gram weight. What's more, it's designed with five contact points -- the top, the two black boxes (which store the battery and circuitry) and the earbuds -- with your head, so that it can be worn securely with great comfort. That's certainly the case with the prototype we played with at CES.

These headphones have a dedicated companion app that not only lets you adjust the level of noise cancellation and sound effects, but also monitors your heart rate, running speed and even finer details like vertical oscillation (the less the better) plus left and right step detection (they should be in sync). Thankfully, the fitness data can be shared with most other sports applications, but we'll hear more about that in the near future.

What remains unknown are the price and the exact launch date for the Zik Sport, so we shall keep an eye out for them later this year.

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